Song: Up, Up and Away
Group: The Fifth Dimension
After dropping off my wife at the 1/4 mile hike to the beginning
of the stairs to the top of the Manitou Incline...
my wife said she had originally thought she was on the wrong trail...
but she then saw signs demonstrating she was on the correct rail after all.
The same Barr Trail leads to farther destinations.
Although the summit of Pikes Peak is only 11.5 miles up the trail
(18.5 Kilometers)...
it gets steep, may have weather extremes, and is up over 14,000 feet in elevation
(4,302 Meters).
Who knows...
it may forever remain a dream hike for my wife and I...
yeah...
most probably so :)
My wife was excited as she began her hike...
as it seemed easy at first...
but as she would later learn...
the steps became much larger and steeper the higher up she went.
Every so often...
my wife would stop to turn around and take a photo.
The stairs were still rather tame here.
She had only reached stair number 500 here...
out of 2,768.
She still had a long way to go.
One of many turn out points for people to just go back down on the Barr trail.
Most people attempting the climb...
never make the top...
as it becomes more difficult the higher up you go.
Step number 1,500.
Step number 2,000...
my wife felt encouraged by this.
This is where the steps became taller and steeper.
The top step...2,768...
and where my wife got her reward having made it to the top.
My wife rested at the top for a while as she relaxed
and walked around a little as she took photos.
Just beyond the final steps at the top...
the Barr Trail leading back down began.
My wife said that she just took this photo without really reading it...
as for the over 3 mile journey back down on this dirt trail...
she had run down about half of it...
whenever the trail wasn't too steep or rocky.
My wife said she had run on the trail when it was like this...
but when it became rocky...
she would walk.
The Barr Trail showing that by continuing up the trail...
it will lead you to the summit of Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak is in the background of this photo.
My wife said she had mistakenly taken some wrong trails on the way down.
She said she had mistaken the arrow as pointing to the trail straight ahead...
instead of taking the trail to the right.
So...
she had to climb between the boulders using her hands as she scrambled
up a false trail.
After climbing a ways...
she realized it couldn't have been the right trail...
but after walking a ways...
she found the Barr Trail once again...
but she had actually turned the wrong direction on it...
and she had found herself back at the bottom where she had originally
seen the sign :)
My wife said the trail down was beautiful...
and it had allowed her an easy jog along most of the path down.
Even though most of the path led downhill...
some of the path had to once again...
go upwards to climb over ridges.
My wife said she had seen many fall colors still on many of the trees...
as even the top of the Manitou Incline is still over 1,000 ft below where we live
(over 300 meters below our home elevation).
My wife said whenever she encountered rough ground...
especially when the trail was filled with uneven rocky ground...
she would carefully walk.
My wife showing where certain drop offs existed...
and the limit to the edge where she would not dare to go farther
(she just extended one leg to steady herself).
My wife said she was glad to have reached the bottom of the trail
in the parking lot at which I had originally dropped her off.
My wife then walked a relatively short distance to the Pikes Peak Cog Railway station
to await her shuttle to the hiker's pick up point.
The hiker's shuttle service was just down a ways further...
but shortly after she arrived...
she had received my text...
and so she remained at the shuttle stop until I arrived.
She had a tired but very happy and victorious face when I arrived.
I, of course, took photos of her...
but...
once again...
she doesn't want any photos of herself on the internet.
On our way back home...
she excitedly and very proudly told me of her grand adventure.
She told me that she was so glad she had done this to celebrate her birthday...
as it would be a birthday that she would always remember.
I am proud of her.
She and I are alike in many ways...
as we greatly enjoy adventures in life.
---------
Although my wife is a bit sore...
especially in her butt...
lower back...
thighs and knees...
it is a good soreness...
for it was won in a victory over herself.
She didn't give up...
and so...
she had achieved a dream goal of hers.
She will rest herself over the next few days...
and then she will begin training for more adventures to come.
Being out in the sun along a nature trail sounds like such a great experience. Her ability is impressive. That steep incline at such a high altitude is not something the average tourist can accomplish. I would never reveal her age, but I will say it adds to the impressiveness of her accomplishment. She inspires me to take good care of my body.
ReplyDeleteBy the way...next time you come up, you may want to try it. You can just take your time going up. Next time I think I will take the Barr Trail up to the top. I will soon be walking up to the top of our mountain, and then train walking the long mountain route I usually have for triking.
DeleteYes, she is very fit, and she will be doing the treadmill tonight to flush out the built up lactic acid and to speed her recovery as she is sore throughout her body.
ReplyDelete